ἑαυτοῦ G1438
Reflexive pronoun: himself, herself, itself, themselves; also possessive (his own) and reciprocal (one another)
The third-person reflexive pronoun heautou is one of Greek's essential grammatical tools, directing the action of a verb back upon its subject. In the New Testament it appears across all persons and numbers — 'deny himself' (Matt 16:24), 'humble himself' (Matt 18:4) — sometimes extending to possessive force ('his own dead,' Matt 8:22) and occasionally taking on reciprocal meaning ('among themselves,' Matt 27:35). Arabic parallels this flexibility with nafsahu for reflexive and ba'dukum al-ba'da for reciprocal uses, while Korean employs the dedicated reflexive jasin alongside the reciprocal seo-ro.
2. possessive reflexive (of oneself) — Genitive or possessive reflexive indicating ownership or belonging relative to the subject: 'his own dead' (Matt 8:22), 'their own garments' (Matt 21:8), 'their own lamps' (Matt 25:1). The emphasis falls on the possessor's identity with the subject. Arabic uses possessive suffixes or al-khassa ('own') to convey this sense, while Korean employs the possessive particle jasin-ui. French distinguishes this with son propre or de lui-même. 68×
AR["-","-هُ","خاصَّتِهِ","ـهُ","لِنَفسِ-هِ","مَدِينَتِهِ","نَفْسِهَا","نَفْسِهِ","ها","هُ"]·ben["তাঁর-নিজের","নিজের"]·DE["sich-selbst"]·EN["his-own","of-her","of-herself","of-himself","of-his-own"]·FR["lui-même","soi-même"]·heb["שֶׁל-עַצְמָהּ","שֶׁל-עַצְמוֹ","שֶׁלְעַצְמָהּ","שֶׁלּוֹ","שֶׁלוֹ"]·HI["अपन","अपना","अपनी","अपने","अपने।"]·ID["-nya","milik-Nya","milik-Nya-sendiri","milik-sendiri","miliknya","sendiri"]·IT["se-stesso","sé-stessi"]·jav["Panjenenganipun-piyambak","Piyambakipun","kagungananipun,","piyambak","piyambak,","piyambakipun","piyambakipun-piyambak","piyambakipun-piyambak,","piyambakipun-piyambak."]·KO["자기-의","자기의","자신-의","자신의"]·PT["de-si-mesmo","própria","próprio","próprios","seu","seu-próprio","seus","seus-próprios","sua-própria"]·RU["-любовь","Своё","плоти","своего","своему","своих","свой","свою","своё","себе"]·ES["de-sí-misma","de-sí-mismo","de-él"]·SW["lake","mwili","ufalme","wake","watoto","yake","yake-mwenyewe"]·TR["kendi","kendisinin"]·urd["اپنا","اپنی","اپنے"]
Matt 8:22, Matt 15:30, Matt 18:31, Matt 21:8, Matt 25:1, Matt 25:3, Matt 25:4, Matt 25:7, Luke 2:3, Luke 2:39, Luke 9:60, Luke 11:21 (+38 more)
▼ 3 more senses below
Senses
1. reflexive pronoun (direct/indirect) — The core reflexive use where the subject acts upon or directs action toward itself as direct or indirect object: 'let him deny himself' (Matt 16:24), 'whoever humbles himself' (Matt 23:12). This covers all persons — himself, herself, themselves, ourselves, yourselves — unified by the grammatical function of co-reference with the subject. Spanish a sí mismo and German sich selbst parallel the construction precisely, while languages like Korean use jasin as a dedicated reflexive marker. 239×
AR["نَفسَ-هُ","نَفسَهُ","نَفسِهِ","نَفْسَ-هُ","نَفْسَهُ"]·ben["নিজেকে","ἑαυτόν-নিজেকে"]·DE["sich-selbst"]·EN["himself","oneself"]·FR["soi-même"]·heb["אֶת-עַצְמוֹ","אֶת־נַפְשׁ-ו","אֶת־עַצְמוֹ","עַצְמוֹ"]·HI["अपने-अअप-को","अपने-आप","अपने-आप-का","अपने-आप-को","अपने-आप-से","अपने-आपको","पत्थरों-से"]·ID["diri-Nya","diri-Nya-sendiri","diri-sendiri","dirinya","dirinya-sendiri"]·IT["sé-stessi"]·jav["Panjenenganipun-piyambak","Piyambakipun","Piyambakipun-piyambak,","awaknipun-piyambak","awaké-dhéwé","piyambak,","piyambakipun","piyambakipun,","piyambakipun-piyambak"]·KO["자기-를","자기-자신-을","자기-자신을","자기-자신이","자기를","자신-을"]·PT["a-si-mesmo","com-pedras."]·RU["Себя","Себя-Самого","себя"]·ES["-a-sí-mismo","a-sí-mismo"]·SW["atakwezwa","atashushwa","mwenyewe","nafsi-yako","yeye","yeye-mwenyewe"]·TR["kendini","kendini,","kendisi","kendisini"]·urd["اپنے-آپ-سے","اپنے-آپ-کا","اپنے-آپ-کو","بناتے-ہوئے","خود","خُد-کو"]
Matt 16:24, Matt 18:4, Matt 23:12, Matt 23:12, Matt 27:42, Mark 5:5, Mark 8:34, Mark 12:33, Mark 15:31, Luke 9:23, Luke 9:25, Luke 10:29 (+38 more)
3. reciprocal (one another) — Reciprocal use where the reflexive pronoun functions equivalently to allelon ('one another'), indicating mutual action among group members. In Luke 22:17 Jesus says 'divide it among yourselves,' and in Matt 27:35 soldiers cast lots 'among themselves.' Arabic ba'dukum al-ba'da ('some of you...some') and Korean seo-ro both signal this reciprocal shift. The context — always plural subjects acting mutually — distinguishes this from simple reflexivity. 12×
AR["-كُمْ","أنفُسِكُم","أنْفُسِكُمْ","أَنْفُسِكُمْ","بَعضُكُم-بَعضًا","بَعضِكُم-البَعضَ","بَيْنَكُمْ","لِأَنْفُسِهِمْ"]·ben["তোমাদের","নিজেদের","নিজেদের,","নিজেদের-জন্য"]·DE["sich-selbst"]·EN["among-themselves","for-themselves","to-yourselves","yourselves"]·FR["lui-même","soi-même"]·heb["-","בֵינֵיכֶם","לְ-עַצְמְכֶם","לְעַצְמְכֶם","לָ-הֶם","לָהֶם","עַצְמְכֶם"]·HI["अअपस-मेइन","अपने","अपने-अअप-को","अपने-आप-के","अपने-आप-को","अपने-बीच","अपने-बेएच","आपस-में","आपसमें","एक-दूसरे"]·ID["di-antara-mereka","diri-sendiri","dirimu-sendiri","dirimu-sendiri,","kamu","kamu-sendiri","satu-sama-lain","satu-sama-lain,","untuk-diri-sendiri"]·IT["sé-stessi"]·jav["kanggé-piyambak-piyambak,","panjenengan-piyambak","panjenengan-piyambak,","panjenengan-piyambak.","panjenengan-sedaya-piyambak;","panjenengan-sedaya.","piyambak","piyambakipun,","piyambakipun-sadaya"]·KO["너희-끼리","너희-사이에.","너희-자신과","너희-자신들","너희-자신들과","서로-에게","서로를","서로를,","자기들-끼리","자신들-안에서,"]·PT["-","convosco","entre-si","uns-aos-outros","uns-aos-outros,","vós-mesmos"]·RU["-","друг-друга,","друг-другу","себе","себе,","себе-самих,","собой","собою"]·ES["entre-sí","entre-vosotros","para-sí-mismos","unos-a-otros","vosotros-mismos"]·SW["mwenu","ninyi-kwa-ninyi","ninyi-wenyewe","pia","wao-wenyewe","wenyewe","wenzake"]·TR["aralarında","aranızda","birbirinize","birbirinizi","kendi-aralarında","kendiniz","kendinizle","sizinle"]·urd["آپس","اپنے","اپنے لیے","اپنے-درمیان٬","اپنے-لِیے","ایک-دوسرے","ایک-دوسرے-سے","ایک-دوسرے-کی"]
4. sense 4 — An intensive or comparative reflexive use in contexts where the pronoun emphasizes degree or comparison: 'worse than itself' (Matt 12:45, Luke 11:26). Both occurrences describe an unclean spirit returning with seven others more evil 'than itself,' using the genitive reflexive in a comparative construction. The English 'than itself' and Spanish que sí mismo capture this emphatic comparative nuance. 2×
AR["مِنهُ","مِنْ-هِ"]·ben["নিজের-চেয়ে"]·DE["sich-selbst"]·EN["than-itself"]·FR["soi-même"]·heb["מִמֶּנָּה","מִמֶּנּוּ"]·HI["अपने-से"]·ID["dari-dirinya-sendiri","dirinya-sendiri"]·IT["sé-stessi"]·jav["piyambakipun-piyambak","tinimbang-piyambakipun,"]·KO["자기-자신보다","자기보다"]·RU["себя"]·ES["que-sí-mismo"]·SW["kuliko-yeye","kuliko-yeye,"]·TR["kendinden","kendisinden"]·urd["اپنے-سے"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
ἑαυτοῦ, ῆς, οῦ, ἑαυτῷ, ῇ, ῷ, ἑαυτόν, ήν, ό, plural ἑαυτῶν, ἑαυτοῖς, ἑαυτούς άς, ά: Ionic dialect ἑωυτοῦ Refs 5th c.BC+; also ωὑτῆς Refs 3rd c.BC+ in Papyrus and Inscrr., as Refs 1st c.BC+: Attic dialect contraction αὑτοῦ, etc., which is the usual form in Trag., though ἑαυτοῦ, etc., are used (though rarely) when the metre requires, Refs 4th c.BC+; Cretan dialect ϝιαυτοῦ Kohler-Ziebarth Stadtrecht…